I have a client who does most of her work away from her home which is her registered business address, but she does do about 3-4 hrs of admin a week at her home. Based on that, approximately how much can she claim as business usage for electricity etc?
since home is not her place of work I would be inclined to claim only the £3 weekly allowance for admin work at home and no other utility bill. It would be difficult to justify claiming the bills in case of an inspection. That's my view, others may disagree.
Fabs
__________________
Boomerang Bookkeeping
Fixed-fee Bookkeeping Solutions for Small Businesses from £15 per month.
Here is where I will disagree with Fabs, you wont know what is the best method until you do the calculations. Don't just be tempted to use the lazy option because it's easier. If you do the calculations properly there is really no need to fear an inspection.
Have a look at: http://www.kmbookkeeping.co.uk/guide-home-office.php
Its officially classed as her place of work, but she does personal training/exercise classes which are done outdoors in the local park, so that's why I wasn't sure what she could claim. If it is just the £3 a week then I'm sure she'll be happy with that but if she can claim more then its worth a try, right?
Wowser... Is this the first time we disagree Kris?
I'm well aware of that web page and the relevant processes. I personally would not call it the 'lazy' option as I believe it sometimes is the only option in my opinion. The case we are discussing falls into this category as the client is not 'working from home'. It is clear that they work in the park and they are just typing some invoices at home.
I think it all boils down to what we consider 'working from home'. In my mind just registering an address as your business address does not make it your place of work. I always consider the place of work the physical location where the work is done (the park in this instance) and claim expenses accordingly.
Sammy - if apportioning the household bills works out more convenient then you can opt for the 'non-lazy' approach, just be aware that if you may be in a bad place if the client gets stung by HMRC for this. (Make sure your PII is in place).
Am I being too careful?
Fabs
__________________
Boomerang Bookkeeping
Fixed-fee Bookkeeping Solutions for Small Businesses from £15 per month.
I think it is a first. Glad you've had a read of my website.
I think this is an example of unnecessary fear of HMRC. If you've properly calculated your expenses and properly apportioned it why would you fear an investigation.
This isn't a method I've dreamed up, it's the recognised way of calculating expenses for any use of home as an office.
Many thanks for everyone's help. I think she's already claimed the basic allowance on her previous tax return based on advice given to her but I wanted to see if there was a chance she might be able to claim a bit more.
